GreenVoice

Photography Exhibition â€“ Workshops for children: Perspectives on the environment, citizenship and volunteerism

15 July 2011

Geneva, July 15 2011 -- From the 18th of July until the 25th of August 2011, the promenade on Quai Wilson in Geneva will hold a photography exhibition organized by GreenVoice, a program focused on the environment. Built around a photography exhibition and workshops for children, this initiative aims to raise awareness in a creative and dynamic way. Promoting environmental education and new consumption patterns by encouraging and rewarding youth involvement is the objective of the GreenVoice project.

For the third consecutive year, GreenVoice (www.greenvoice.info) launched an international call for creative photography on the theme of the environment, entitled "Diverse Perspectives on the environment, citizenship and volunteerism." This edition allows volunteer photographers in the region and around the world to share their perception of the environment while displaying their creativity.

'GreenVoice' was initiated by ICVolunteers (www.icvolunteers.org), a volunteer organization that specializes in the fields of communications and development project.

The aim is, firstly, to bring citizens, especially youth, to point the lens of their camera and of personal reflection on issues related to ecology, climate change and sustainable development. Secondly, to encourage them to get involved, as citizens, focusing on ecological alternatives.

Since the beginning of the initiative, close to 1,000 photographs from 100 countries were received, 92 of which were selected to be exhibited for five weeks at the Quai Wilson, in Geneva. The photos show the diverse perspectives of volunteer photographers, from the Philippines to Colombia, from Lithuania to Australia, Morocco and Mali, and of course including Switzerland, the exhibition depicts their respective multicultural visions, offering the audience an original view of the world.

As part of this exhibition, free summer workshops are offered for children between 8 and 13 years of age. The aim of these workshops is to confront the youth with environmental issues and allow them to engage actively in a project enhancing the local natural heritage and its protection.

The workshops relate directly to photography, green energy, sorting and recycling, sustainable use of water as well as planting trees and cleaning days. They are conducted by a series of local organizations such as the SEVE and Net'Leman. They aim not only to educate and promote greener consumption patterns, but also to expose children to volunteering.

Led by ICV volunteers and specialists in each area, the workshops are part of the Passport Vacances program of the Department of Public Instruction (DPI). They are a fun, economical and educational way to occupy the children for the summer while teaching them respect for the environment and making them aware of their future role!

GreenVoice â€“ A green project of ICVolunteers

The project GreenVoice was created five years ago by ICV, an NGO founded in 1999 and active in the field of communication and project development assistance. It aims to raise awareness, especially for younger ones, on issues related to the environment and promoting concrete action to preserve it.

Through this project, ICV wants to emphasize how civil society can contribute to citizenship through proactive measures of knowledge and environmental protection. GreenVoice initiatives such as tree planting, the call for creative photography and awareness workshops, aim at strengthening the commitment of every citizen to protect and preserve our planet. None of this could happen without ICVâ€™s network of more than 12,000 volunteers.

EXHIBITIONDates: from July 18 to August 25, 2011Place: Quai Wilson -Geneva

Partners: This project would not have been possible without the support of our partners: The City of Geneva, Republic and Canton of Geneva, Posterjack, La Libellule, Les SIG, Le Respect, UNEP, SEVE, la Voirie de GenÃ¨ve, Netâ€™Leman, Stockholm Convention, Basel Convention, Rotterdam Convention, Safe Planet, Croque-Loisir and all our volunteers ... a big thank you to all!